Utah State Senator Jim Dabakis on
Monday announced his bid to run Salt Lake City.

“I am running for mayor of Salt Lake
City!” Dabakis said in an email to supporters. “I believe our
Capitol City is on the edge of greatness. I believe, working
together with our citizens, I have the management skills, energy, and
vision to help get Salt Lake to the top tier of American cities!”

Dabakis, a former local talk-radio and
TV host, co-founded Equality Utah and the Utah Pride Center.

In his announcement, Dabakis said the
mayor “needs a big heart” and “is the ambassador of the city to
the rest of the state and the world.”

“There will be no end of my energy in
promoting our dazzling city,” he said.

Dabakis married husband Stephen
Justeson in a ceremony conducted by Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker
on December 20, 2013, just hours after a federal judge struck down
Utah's gay marriage ban as unconstitutional.